Perceptions of People with Psychological Problems

The present experiment examined the effects of variations in psychological history and academic qualifications on impressions of college applicants. 94 male and 81 female undergraduates were led to believe that the applicant had previous psychological problems or had previous psychological problems and sought professional help, or they were given no information about psychological history. Subjects also were informed that the person had strong or weak academic credentials or they were given no academic data. Applicants with previous psychological problems were rated more favorably when they sought counseling than when they did not. Applicants for whom no psychological problems were indicated were rated most highly over-all on security and sociability whereas applicants who had problems and sought counseling were evaluated most favorably on competence and character. A main effect for academic credentials was also obtained: subjects generally rated applicants with strong credentials most highly. The over-all pattern of results supports previous research indicating that people are ambivalent about persons with psychological problems

Ambivalence · Competence (human resources · Perception · Psychological counseling · Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology · Applied Psychology · Clinical Psychology · Psychology · Psychology of Social Influence · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology

• Mentally III, Public Attitudes towards

  Open Access•Dinesh Bhugra, Sara Evans-Lacko et al.•International Encyclopedia of the…•2015

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• Mental Health Consumers' Experience of Stigma

  Otto F Wahl•Schizophrenia Bulletin•1999

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• Generalizability and specificity of the stigma associated with the mental illness label

  Open Access•Linda J Skinner, Kenneth K Berry et al.•Journal of Community Psychology•1995

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• Attitudes toward Psychology, Psychiatry and Mental Illness in the Central Eastern Cape of South Africa

  Open Access•Christopher R Stones•South African Journal of Psychology•1996

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• Public Views of Ex-Mental Patients

  Open Access•John Fracchia, David Canale et al.•Psychological Reports•1976

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• Stigma

  Diane Mitsch Bush, Irwin Katz•Contemporary Sociology A Journal…•1982

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• The social acceptance of the ex-mental hospital patient

  Open Access•Iradj Siassi, Herzl R Spiro et al.•Community Mental Health Journal•1973

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• Adapting to the stigmatizing label of mental illness

  Kelly E Piner, Lynn R Kahle•Journal of Personality and Social…•1984

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• Social perception and interpersonal behavior

  M Snyder, Elizabeth Decker Tanke et al.•Journal of Personality and Social…•1977

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• Inferred sex differences in status as a determinant of gender stereotypes about social influence

  Alice H Eagly, Wendy Wood•Journal of Personality and Social…•1982

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• Rejection

  Derek L Phillips•American Sociological Review•1963

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• The Labelling Theory of Mental Illness

  Thomas J Scheff•American Sociological Review•1974

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• Mental illness, predictability, and affective consequences as stimulus factors in person perception

  Kenneth J Gergen, Edward E Jones•Journal of Abnormal & Social…•1963

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